S/PV.2562 Security Council

I too should like to begin by congratulating you, Sir, upon your election as President of the Security Council for the month of November. I should like to extend also, on behalf of our delegation, our thanks to the representative of Burkina Faso for the manner in which he handled the presidency of the Council during the month of October. 43. I sincerely regret that Mrs. Kirkpatrick was unable to rearrange her pressing schedule to be here tonight. At the same time, I should like to make it clear that, in fairness to all members ofthe Council, members should call for meetings only after reasonable notice is afforded to other members, unless there is an emergency requiring immediate action. No such emergency requiring immediate action exists tonight. Insistence that a meeting take place forthwith thus constituted a misuse of the process of the Council. 39. On various occasions we have complained in the Council and in the General Assembly about the policy of double standards of the present United States Administration. Today we do so once again as we observe the consequences of the so-called constructive observations on the Contadora Act, the real objective of which was expressed in the secret report of the meeting of the United States National Security Council, a meeting attended by the President himself. The report was summarized in an article by Alma Guillermo-Prieto and David Hoffman in The Washington Post of 6 November under the heading “United States Memo: Latin pact effectively blocked”. The articie clearly shows that the Reagan Administration never had any serious intentions with regard to Contadora and does not have any such intentions now. Consequently it has never seriously entertained the notion of a negotiated political solution, but indeed is delighted to have succeeded in “effectively blocking” that process, so that it can satisfy its desire for a military solution to the problems of Central America. 44. If I understood the representative of Nicaragua correctly, he was telling us in his introductory remarks that the United States rescue mission overthrew the Maurice Bishop revolution. This statement suggests that Nicaragua is far on its road to the state of society against which George Orwell warned in his book 1984. In that book, it will be recalled, he suggested the existence of a memory hole into which clippings of old newspapers would be dropped when history was rewritten retroactively. Lest we forget, let me remind everyone concerned that Maurice Bishop had been murdered and that his murderers were trying to assert 45, This meeting is still another occasion, closely resembling more than half a dozen others, on which the Council convenes at the urgent insistence of Nicaragua to deal with an invented threat of invasion which is alleged to emanate from the United States. Let us recall that the next to the last announcement of a planned invasion came from the head of Nicaragua’s military Junta, when, speaking to the General Assembly in full military regalia, he predicted an invasion of his country by 15 October. Well, 15 October came and went, as most of us knew it would, without that prediction coming true. So now, with 15 November approaching, we are being treated to another prediction, another potential media event-perhaps with the idea of establishing a pattern of calling for consideration of this issue at regular monthly intervals. 46. Let me state clearly and simply that what was true of the alleged 15 October threat of invasion is equally true of the allegation which is being advanced against the United States this evening. It is totally without foundation, 47. Let me say at this point that, in case there is any doubt, Retired Admiral La Rocque, who has been quoted at such length by the representative of Nicaragua, is not an authorized spokesman for the Government of the United States. I would add: on the contrary. 48. Having thus dealt with the substance of the complaint, let me say afew words about the procedure here employed. Under the provisions of Chapter VI, Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations, an effort should be made prior to bringing a dispute before the Security Council to exhaust certain other named remedies including-to quote from the Charter-“resort to rel gional agencies”. In the case of the Americas, such a regional agency exists. It is the Organization of American States, whose jurisdiction should be invoked in the first instance. 49. Having just heard in detail the allegations which Nicaragua has chosen to make against my country, I should like to say that we obviously need time to prepare a sufficiently detailed response. At this juncture, I shall observe merely that it is indeed ironic that a Government which has deliberately chosen to engage in the process of militarizing its country, whose own military buildup does indeed constitute a serious threat to its immediate neighbours in the region, should be coming to the Council with a totally unfounded claim that it considers itself militarily threatened. As I said at the outset, so such threat exists. In fact, there is a close parallel between the contentions advanced here tonight and the recent elections in Nicaragua-for they both lack credibility, 50. The PRESIDENT [interpretation from Chinese]: The representative of Nicaragua wishes to speak and I now call on him. 52. The representative of the United States has said, among other things, that we constantly have recourse to the Security Council, and that we do so for no ju+ tifiable reason, without there being any factors that really constitute a genuine threat to international peace and security. 53. I should like to ask the representative of the United States whether he reads the American press. I shall not ask him whether he reads the Nicaraguan press, but does he read the daily press here, and the magazines? Does he watch television or hear the radio news? From these we get constant, incessant information, public information, confirmed by American press sources, telling of constant belligerent activity and an increasing American military presence. 54. If this is not a matter for concern for a small country like Nicaragua, if this is not a cause for concern for a non-aligned country like Nicaragua-which is enduring a war of aggression for the pursuing of which funding is openly requested in the United States Congress-I should like him to tell us what should be a cause for concern, and whether indeed the United States itself would not be concerned if it was suffering a situation similar to that which we are experiencing at its hands. 55. Here I want to make a particular point, because it is the second time a representative of the United States has referred to the fact that the Co-ordinator of the Governing Junta, Commander of the Revolution Daniel Ortega Saavedra, appeared before the General Asset bly recently in full military uniform. I really do not know how the representative of the United States expects the leader of a country such as Nicaragua to dress-a person who is Commander of the Revolution, precisely because he participated heroically and valiantly in a war of liberation by which the Somoza dynasty was brought to an end. I could tell him in the same sarcastic tone as he used that we have seen-and I personally have seen-the President of the United States in his Hollywood B-movie cowboy costume+ 56. The United States representative also spoke of the credibility of our elections. I do not know how the United States dares to speak of the credibility of our elections, when it is well known that the Nicaraguan people have just made a massive effort of broad popular participation. I have said that 80 per cent of the electorate voted, despite the United States war of aggression and despite the meddling of the United Statesin the internal affairs of Nicaragua, persuading certain political parties to abstain, using funds provided by the United States Government. I do not know how the 60. I know that the representatives of the United States have a predilection for the regional body for various reasons, including the historic control the United States has had in it as a logical consequence of its historic dominion in Latin America. But the Latin American peoples are waking up, and we know that sooner rather than later they will wake up fully and realize that in a regional organization such as the Latin American one, it is neither logical nor consistent that a military power such as the United States should try to impose its decisions. 57. I should like to refresh his memory. We, at least, feel satisfaction that 80 per cent of registered voters voted, and that the Sandinist National Liberation Front, which the United States seeks to overthrow, has won an overwhelming victory-67 per cent of the vote-while in the United States approximately 58 per cent of eligible citizens voted, and President Reagan was elected by a similar percentage of those. Who has the greater popular support if we look at the figures-someone elected by a small percentage of voters or someone elected by a massive popular vote in a country suffering the effects of a war of aggression?

I shall be very brief. On the matter of election percentages, let me just say that I was thinking back to an experience in my own youth. I remember that it was 10 April 1938. I was present in Vienna when Austria decided to permit itself to be incorporated into Nazi Germany. The voter turn-out was 98 per cent and, if I remember correctly, 98 per cent of the voters then voted “Yes”. 58. The representative of the United States also referred to what he described as the “rescue operation” in Grenada, I do not know who it rescued. Supposedly it was the American citizens then present on the tiny island of Grenada. But the dean of the university where students were studying medicine himself said clearly that the students were in no danger, quite apart from the internal situation, and that therefore the action, which violated elementary norms of international law, in which the United States invaded a sovereign and independent State, was unjustified and that there was not the least reason for it, quite apart from whatever internal problems the island had. 62. The PRESIDENT [interpretation from Chinese]: There are no further speakers on my list. The next meeting of the Security Council to continue its consideration of the item on its agenda will be fixed in consultation with members of the Council. The meeting rose at 9.40 p.m. 59. I wish to be brief, but I would state for the benefit of the representative of the United States that perhaps his country would wish us to resort to the regional organization, the Organization of American States. But I beg him not to misuse the Articles of the Charter for the United States’ benefit. There are other Articles in the Charter which, apart from the existence of regional NOTE 1 See Offi& Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-ninth Session, Plenary Meetings, Vol. I, 16th meeting. HOW TO OBTAIN UNITED NATIONS PUBLICATIONS United Nations publications may be obtained from bookstores and distributors throughout the world. Consult your bookstore or write to: United Nations, Sales Section, New York or Geneva. COMMENT SE PROCURER LES PUBLICATIONS DES NATIONS UNIES Les publications des Nations Unies sent en vente dans les librairies et Ies agences depositaires du monde entier. Informez-vous aupres de votre libraire ou adresscz-vous a : Nations Unies, Section des ventes, New York ou Geneve. COMO CONSEGUIR PUBLICACIONES DE LAS NACIONES UNIDAS Las publicaciones de las Neciones Unidas estan en venta en librerias y casas distribuidoras en todas panes det mundo. Cons&e a su librero o dirijase a: Nacioncs Unidas, Section de Ventas, Nueva York o Ginebra. Litho in United Nations, New York 00300 go-61313~Janualy 19934~~